Appeal denied for Greenville man who killed woman in street

GREENVILLE, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - A Greenville man’s appeal to have his murder conviction overturned was denied by the South Carolina Court of Appeals on Wednesday.

Samuel Burnside killed Catherine Clark near the intersection of Sagitarius Way and Stables Road in 2017. Burnside and the victim got into an argument in his car after he picked her up from the Southern Suites Motel. He then forced her out of the car, shot her three times in the head and chest, and left her body in the road.

A passerby found Clark and called 911.

In 2020, a jury convicted Burnside of murder and possession of a weapon. He was sentenced to 45 years in prison.

He recently appealed his conviction, arguing that prosecutors used a jury strike in a “racially discriminatory manner.” At the time he made a request for the court to quash the jury panel, which was denied.

The South Carolina Court of Appeals ruled that the court was justified in denying Burnside’s motion to quash, citing criteria that he failed to meet to prove discrimination was involved in the state’s jury strike.

Burnside, who is housed at Allendale Correctional Institution, will be eligible for release in 2062.

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